Circling Back to the Pressing Choice of Government: ‘By the People’ or ‘For the People’? Commentary Up until the 2020 election, the single-most-important democratic institution that Americans could depend on was the ballot box. Despite the rhetorical fog, ideological deception, legal tergiversation, and corrupt policy, ordinary citizens have been able to throw out corrupt politicians and install leaders who promised to govern in the best interests of the American people. As it stands now, this may no longer be the case, and the present transformation of U.S. electoral customs may well go down as one of the most troubling events in the history of democracy.